Q: I installed System Center 2012 without a product key and it's running in evaluation mode--how do I switch to retail mode?

A: System Center 2012 is one product, which means a single product key is required to switch all of the components-- Configuration Manager (SCCM), Operations Manager, Data Protection Manager (DPM), Orchestrator, Virtual Machine Manager (VMM), Service Manager, and AppController--from evaluation to retail mode.

If you enter a product key during installation, then the installation is put in retail mode by default, but if you didn't enter a product key, you will be in evaluation mode.

Most of the SC 2012 components allow a product key to be entered within the management console. See Help - About dialog (VMM and Orchestrator), or rerun the setup routine to enter a product key (SCCM, AppController and DPM).

However, for Operations Manager, use Windows PowerShell:

Open the Operations Manager Shell.

Use the Set-SCOMLicense cmdlet, passing the product key in double quotes, for example: Set-SCOMLicense "xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx"

Reboot the machine.

After the reboot is complete, you can check your server is retail by using the command below: